Union President Responds To SEPTA Injunction, Says They Will Fight It 'Tooth And Nail'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- On Friday, SEPTA filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to end the four day long TWU Local 234 strike. SEPTA is asserting that it constitutes a clear and present danger to the health, safety and welfare of our riders and the citizens of Philadelphia and the region.
SEPTA Files Lawsuit Seeking To End Strike, Says It 'Presents Risk To Citizens' Right To Vote'
The transit agency notes in the lawsuit "that the strike has caused people to miss critical medical appointments; is making it impossible for some disabled residents to get to facilities for specialty care, get assistance with fundamental life-care matters and training critical to their efforts towards independence; is causing students to miss school; and presents a risk to citizens' right to vote in the Nov. 8 election."
TWU Local 234 President Willie Brown released the following statement regarding negotiations and the lawsuit filed by SEPTA:
"A bargaining session between SEPTA and our union is scheduled for 6 pm today. That's where our focus should be – not on legal maneuvers that have no merit. We will fight SEPTA's request for an injunction tooth and nail. We would prefer, however, to concentrate our attention on productive bargaining to reach a fair settlement. At this point, only a handful of issues separate the parties.
Retirement security for our members is one of the issues still outstanding. The fact remains that our union caught SEPTA management with their hands in the cookie jar, rewarding themselves with pension increases averaging $500 a month.
It appears that SEPTA's plan all along was to avoid real bargaining while relying on legal tricks. Until recently, they demanded that our members bring home less money in the new contract than under our previous agreement. We are committed to bargaining a new agreement as soon as possible. That will happen at the bargaining table – not by rushing into court in a pointless attempt to restrict workers' rights."
